Chapter 9
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: 3. Sex Education (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The scent of wood gradually deepened.
And the library interior, filled with the musty smell of old books.
Beyond those soft fragrances, the faint body scent of Baekya, walking ahead, subtly brushed the tip of my nose.
I shouldn't be noticing it.
Maybe I should've just jerked off in the shower to cool down and ease this sexual tension.
Baekya's pure white hair, unkempt in places as always since she doesn't bother styling it.
Honestly, it looked a bit like dog fur, so I turned my head away after staring at it blankly.
The sunlight poured in through the tall windows like a misty drizzle, creating a fantastical scene.
Beneath it, the familiar sight I'd spent half a day cleaning two days ago caught my eye.
Countless bookshelves branching out from the open central space.
Even the colorful spine labels, neatly grouped by color, showing off their tidiness.
Fortunately, the library still maintained its pristine state, completely undisturbed.
It was only natural, in a way.
In this vast space, there were only four students besides me.
Unless someone went mad and trashed the books, I'd never see it in that state again before graduation.
The librarian who let it get that bad must have some shocking secret on the academy headmaster as leverage.
I shook off the idle thoughts and followed Baekya to the small rectangular desk in the center of the first floor.
"Sit there."
"Yes, ma'am."
Baekya indicated the seat opposite her with a flick of her finger.
After that brief exchange—barely qualifying as conversation—an awkward silence settled softly between us.
"……."
So, yeah.
This was awkward.
Really awkward.
Come to think of it, this was the first time in my month at the academy that Baekya and I had been alone together.
Kaen had always been with us.
I'd been chattering nonstop about lunch or how I needed to train hard to even catch up to their heels, so I hadn't noticed the silence until now.
Without Kaen as our lubricant, sitting face-to-face with Baekya felt suffocating, like I was choking.
'……This is driving me crazy.'
Should I start with "When does the sex ed begin…?"
…No, that sounds all wrong.
"Did you enjoy breakfast?"
No good. She'd just nod or shake her head, and the conversation would die again.
"Could you show me your handwriting?"
Forget it. She'd think I was a lunatic.
My options were dwindling.
Yeah. Better to wait for her to speak first than force it.
In the end, all I could do was fidget with my hands under the desk.
Every time my index fingers bumped—tap, tap—the one-hour limit ticked down.
"……."
"……."
The awkwardness thickened without any sign of relief.
Just then, as birdsong chirped clearly from outside.
Baekya broke the ice first.
"Luke."
"Yes, Lady Baekya."
My voice cracked from disuse.
Baekya continued as if it didn't faze her.
"To be honest."
"…?"
"I'm not sure where to start or how."
Baekya crossed her arms habitually, fiddling with her lower lip.
Her cherry-blossom-pink lips turned pale under her long, white fingers.
Did sex ed have some kind of order?
Sure, I'd learned dick, pussy, sex from the neighborhood kids, but noble sex ed seemed more systematic.
"What do you…."
I didn't voice my confusion.
Instead, I asked cautiously, and Baekya tilted her head slightly to the side.
"I can't gauge how much common sense a guy has if he's shoving filthy things into other people's mouths."
Baekya explained in her usual stiff tone.
It felt a bit unfair to me.
Honestly, wasn't a blowjob well within normal sex territory?
That anonymous noble's erotic notebook had way more sadistic plays that blew past that.
But Baekya clearly didn't see it that way.
Given she couldn't even tolerate a blowjob, handjobs might be her line for "normal."
Maybe even that would weird her out.
She might recoil at the idea of a woman gripping a man's dick and rubbing it.
If anything, she seemed more lacking in sex knowledge.
I swallowed those thoughts and sat there like a criminal.
"Should I start with 'A penis isn't for women to lick'? Or maybe 'Why do genitals exist'?"
Baekya sighed, her icy voice cutting through.
It felt like she saw me not as an adult, but a child or a monkey just learning about sex.
I knew she had no right to treat me that way.
Still, it irked me.
"Luke. Do you know what semen means?"
"…Yes."
"What about conception or contraception?"
As if I wouldn't.
Even trying not to think about it, lines from the erotic notebook kept surfacing.
Something about her wanting me to ravage her like a beast, teasing my nerves relentlessly.
…Ignore it.
I'd decided to.
I ignored the coincidences piling up before my eyes and carefully chose my words for Baekya.
But.
"You can skip that."
The result was disappointingly blunt.
Simple reason.
Emotions.
I was pissed.
My pride was hurt.
Others might scoff.
But impulsive actions often stem from such feelings.
"Skip? Quite confident."
"……."
"You dumped all sorts of filth into your clueless lover's mouth last night… And now you say skip? Impressive."
Baekya narrowed her eyes, staring at my face.
Her voice, stripped of decorum, dripped with sarcasm.
It was strange.
Was the Baekya I'd seen always capable of such emotional barbs?
I dismissed it as illusion and clamped my mouth shut.
"Fine. I was stupid for even considering your input. No time, so let's start."
"Then, perhaps…."
"From the basics. What men and women need to know about sex."
She cleared her throat, leaned back in her chair, and began.
"First, I'll explain what sperm and eggs are."
Baekya's calm voice soon filled the library.
What is a man?
What is a woman?
Genital structure.
A sea of information I'd never sought or cared to know washed over me.
It wasn't meant to be fun, but even knowing that, it was boring as hell.
Any lapse in focus, and I'd doze off.
Even maintaining eye contact with Baekya became a chore.
Partly because I'd stayed up late last night.
From front to side.
Side to bottom.
My wavering gaze briefly landed on Baekya's soft-looking breasts before jerking unnaturally to the desk.
Luckily unnoticed, she continued lecturing on a lover's proper mindset.
"I repeat, lovers must respect each other."
"……Yes."
"You know what respect means? Don't force weird fetishes on your lover like you."
Kaen and I aren't like that.
Last night's mistake probably killed any chances, but if anything, we were closer to fuckbuddies.
Telling Baekya the truth wouldn't get a good reaction.
I nodded and glanced at the clock.
9:30.
We'd arrived around 9.
Just 30 more minutes of this tedium, and I could escape.
Hang in there a bit longer.
"Next, about sexual intercourse between men and women…."
Baekya trailed off.
"Words alone won't do. Better with diagrams."
She glanced around, stood, and headed to the librarian's desk where she always files her nails.
A brief rummage.
Then she returned with a pen and notebook in hand.
A chance to see Baekya's handwriting flashed in my mind.
But her sudden move blanked those thoughts.
"Sex. Have you done it?"
Close.
Our shoulders pressed firmly.
She hadn't sat opposite like before, but right next to me.
"Luke?"
Her blood-red gaze inches away.
Baekya's sweet body scent erased the soft wood aroma.
Provocatively.
As if demanding my eyes only on her.
Forbidding me to look elsewhere.
Sleep fled instantly.
"Too hard? I mean, have you fucked Kaen?"
"N-no."
"…Good. You probably don't even know where to put it, let alone contraception."
Baekya gave my face her usual indifferent look, then dropped her gaze to the notebook.
Scratch, scratch—the pleasant sound accompanied elegant handwriting etching onto the paper.
I'd only seen her swing swords; holding a pen up close felt oddly alien.
"Sex isn't just for pleasure like you did yesterday. The key is emotional exchange. Not that it applies to you, but also for building family power."
Baekya added, "Would making a girl lick your dick count as emotional exchange?"
She scribbled "Avoid such things henceforth" on the side.
Even rushed, her handwriting remained beautiful.
"Luke. Just to check, do you even know proper sex methods?"
"Yes."
So it wasn't my imagination; she really treated me like a monkey.
Any guy off the street knows the basics.
"Then write it here."
Poke—something sharp jabbed my arm.
The pen she'd held moments ago.
"Write what?"
"The process. From start to finish."
Not hard.
I carefully took the pen and listed the steps on the notebook.
Explaining in detail proved tricky without good words, but it took less than a minute.
"This enough?"
I'd gone with simple terms.
Too erotic like the notebook, and we'd both blush.
Foreplay.
Insertion.
Movement.
Ejaculation.
Contraception if needed, midway.
She'd get it.
If she wanted details, I'd explain verbally.
"Hmm…."
Baekya stared at the notebook like grading homework.
Her eyes lingered, blinking repeatedly on one spot.
I didn't know why.
I hadn't used any tough words.
Maybe "movement" had ambiguous vibes.
"Luke."
"Yes."
"Something weird's in there."
"Ah, what I meant by 'movement' is…."
Whoosh—the notebook thrust toward me.
"What is 'foreplay'?"
Baekya's finger pointed to the very first word.